International Paint Poole Regatta

Whatever hotline the International Paint Poole Regatta organisers have to the weather gods, it’s a good one.

Sunday morning’s news websites showed photos from the lightning storms in different parts of the country, including spectacular images from Bournemouth, and most woke up to heavy rain thinking this was going to be a day for a good neck seal on your sailing clothing.

While the clouds were casually swept aside, a second call on the hotline was needed to provide the wind. Being a Sunday, this request clearly took a little longer to process as it was past midday before any meaningful wind filled in. To be honest we should be thankful as at other sailing meccas such as Lake Garda, on a good ‘Ora’ day the committee don’t even look at their committee boat before that time. A couple of races were completed before that time, when the odd zephyr of wind allowed a start to get away, with the HP30s proving they can glide along in the lightest of winds, and the J/24s and IRC 2/3 classes utilising a breeze that filled in close to the Bournemouth beach.

A steady Southerly wind did fill in though, allowing many of the classes to keep their series up to schedule.

In VPRS 1 Richard Powell’s Marvel has now collected four bullets in five races and leads by a six points going into the final day. Owain Peters’ Rum Juggernaut continue to truck on and has a perfect score. Jon Hutchings’ 3 Wise Monkeys have pulled away in the DIAM 24 trimarans with two wins today, as did Nitric in Nigel Talbot’s Nitric in the MOCRA multihulls.

The IRC classes are contesting their Southern Area Championships, and Rob Bottomley’s Sailplane team have usurped the local favourites on Flair V in IRC1 to take the lead. Phil Plumtree’s Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble contines to lead IRC2, despite a disqualification in race 5.

Things are seriously tight in IRC3 with two Quarter Tonners tied on points at the top. Louise Morton’s Bullet is only ahead of Sam Laidlaw’s Aguila due to having a higher number of first place finishes. This battle is sure to go down to the wire…

The J/24 class thrives on close-quarters racing, and the 2018 National Championship is no exception. Another four races were completed on Sunday, and Duncan McCarthy’s team on Madeleine bounced back from their Black Flag in race 4 with a consistent day of racing. While only picking up a single bullet and a string of fourth place finishes, their consistency has given them a four-point lead at the top – a true measure of just how competitive the fleet is.

In the HP30s Malcolm Wootton’s Pegasus DekMarx continues to lead with a perfect day on the water.

The Fast 40+ class managed to hold two races with Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran dominating the first race of the day, only to finishing a lowly seventh in race five. Saturday’s leader Girls on Film though failed to capitalise, scoring an eighth and a sixth, dropping to second overall, tied on points with Stewart Whitehead’s Rebellion.

No change in lead of the 2.4mR, R19, Redwing, Shrimper, XOD & Flying Fifteen classes with Megan Pascoe, Simon Redhead, Malcolm Bentley, Rod McBrien, David Law & Crispin Read Wilson leading respectively. Sadly, we didn’t manage to get photos from the Harbour course due to the time it would have taken to get around there from the bay – something we will do our best to rectify on Monday.

All the fleets see the beachgoers enjoying the sunshine on their way back into the harbour, and today saw a brisk trade for the ‘Icecream Boat’ along the Studland beach. If any boat hailed them and were hoping for a toffee Cornetto, only to find they were out of stock, the media RIB has no knowledge of when or how they ran out…